BGSU Poll

The BGSU Poll conducts regular statewide polling in Ohio to better understand citizen views on a variety of issues and political preferences. A team of scholars working in the Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Network are responsible for developing and analyzing each poll. The BGSU Poll partners with the national polling firm YouGov to obtain representative samples for each survey based upon relevant demographic data.

Democracy and Public Policy Network Expert Analysis on October 2026 Ohio Likely Voters Poll 

The Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Network has released the October 2026 BGSU Poll, a web-based poll of 1,000 likely Ohio voters conducted from Sept. 29- Oct. 9, 2026. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.95 percentage points.

The poll was conducted under the direction of Bowling Green State University professors Dr. Robert Alexander, Dr. Melissa K. Miller, Dr. David Jackson, and Dr. Joshua Boston in partnership with YouGov. 

Democrats expand narrow leads in Ohio governor and Senate races, but contests remain competitive

Since the September poll, we find Democrats have increased their leads in both the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race, but both continue to be competitive. Democrat Amy Acton holds a 6-point edge over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor (50% to 44%) and Democrat Sherrod Brown holds a 6-point lead over Republican Jon Husted in the Senate race (48% to 42%). However, when asked who they think will win, regardless of their own preferences, most believe Ramaswamy will beat Acton (55% to 43%) and Husted and Brown are tied at 48%-48%. These projections have tightened since the September poll. Democrats continue to be more motivated to vote in this election compared to Republicans although the gap has narrowed (59% to 41%). Democrats have also increased their edge when it comes to the generic congressional ballot. Currently, we find respondents would choose Democrats over Republicans by 4 points (49% to 45%) compared to a 1-point margin in the September poll (48% to 47%). 

"Consistent with much of the public polling, we continue to find Democrats ahead in the state. While this will be welcome news to Democrats, a blue wave in Ohio is far from a sure thing. Republicans have closed well in recent statewide elections, and I would be surprised if these races did not end up within the margin of error in either direction."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Trump approval remains underwater and many regret voting for him in 2024

Donald Trump's net job approval is at -19 with 39% approval and 58% disapproval. In February 2025, just after taking office, Trump had a positive approval rating of +6 (50% approval, 44% disapproval). In the current poll, 60% of respondents believe the country is on the wrong track. The economy continues to be the top issue (39%) when voters are asked to identify the top three issues of most concern to them, followed by inflation (30%), government corruption (28%), and health care (28%). Sixty-five percent think the national economy has gotten worse over the past year compared to 17% who say it is better. Among Trump 2024 voters, 24% now regret their vote either to some degree (14%) or a great deal (10%).

"Although Donald Trump remains popular with the Republican base, there are warning signs for Republicans in the Buckeye state. A significant number who voted for him in 2024 may be having buyer's remorse and that is particularly true among the key voting bloc of independents in the state. Time will tell whether his appearances in the homestretch served to help or hurt the GOP in the state."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

In toxic political environment, voters continue to value honesty, competence and empathy; Acton and Brown have an edge when it comes to candidate attributes

We asked respondents about the importance of various qualities they believe are important in their leaders. When given the chance to select up to three qualities, respondents overwhelmingly chose honesty (59%), competence (42%) and caring about ordinary people (38%) as what they believe a candidate should possess. Among all qualities identified in the poll, Amy Acton averaged 4 to 5 percentage points higher than her opponent Vivek Ramaswamy. She performed particularly well when it came to who they trust most when it comes to caring about ordinary people (48%-30%) and honesty (42%-34%). The candidates were tied when it came to competence (41%-41%). Sherrod Brown averaged about 10 percentage points higher than Jon Husted among all qualities, with significant margins when it came to caring about ordinary people (44%-28%), honesty (39%-29%), and competence (41%- 34%).

"While partisanship and the economy can matter a great deal in any campaign, candidate qualities matter too. In this moment of toxic politics and economic anxiety, voters care about one's honesty, competence and connection to people like themselves. We are consistently finding that many respondents feel like politicians don't listen to common people, and one's ability to connect to voters may ultimately determine who wins and loses in November."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Ohioans have been barraged by political advertising and are over it

Ohioans appear to be fatigued by the volume and tone of campaign advertising that has saturated the state's airwaves. A large majority report seeing a great deal (56%) or quite a bit (24%) of campaign advertisements. Most indicate they have been largely negative and cause them to tune out campaign advertising altogether (60%). In the gubernatorial race, 51% believe that Vivek Ramaswamy has run more negative advertisements, while 28% believe that Amy Acton has. In the Senate race, 46% believe that Jon Husted has run more negative advertisements, while 34% believe Sherrod Brown has. While only 6% would like to see more advertising before Election Day, we are likely to see much more given how close these contests are expected to be.

"Ohio voters remain deeply engaged in this election, but they are also telling us that the nonstop barrage of political advertising has become overwhelming. Campaigns face the challenge of breaking through voter fatigue while still persuading a relatively small group of voters to ultimately come to the polls and cast their ballot for their candidates."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Ohioans agree the current political environment is toxic and their responses show it is fueled by strong negative views between Democrats and Republicans

The October BGSU Poll finds broad agreement across party lines that American politics has become increasingly polarized and uncivil. While 77% believe that it is important for people who have differences of opinion to have conversations with one another, most do not think that is happening today. Sixty-four percent of Ohioans often or always feel exhausted when they think about politics, and 57% often or always feel angry when they think of politics. Large majorities are worried about the future of the country due to the current political environment (78%), believe politics is as toxic as it has ever been in their lifetimes (75%), believe the current political environment has weakened the United States on the world stage (70%), and believe the current political environment will lead to increased violence in the United States (69%). The polarization between Democrats and Republicans is stark. Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans see their counterparts as immoral, close-minded, dishonest, lazy and unintelligent.

"Our data present a pretty bleak picture of what is happening in Ohio politics. Democrats and Republicans see each other as polar opposites of one another and what they see isn’t pretty. It is difficult to live in a civil society when you view your opponents as immoral, dishonest, untrustworthy and that is exactly what we are seeing today."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Few politicians and institutions held in high regard, with some notable exceptions

Librarians (+57), public school teachers (+54), medical experts (+48), and professors (+30) hold the highest net favorability ratings of any person or entity we polled, while opinions of data centers (-45), flock cameras (-40) and billionaires (-36) poll the worst. Majorities of Ohioans hold negative opinions of Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress, the Make America Great Again movement, and Democratic socialists. Prominent Republicans are also well underwater including Donald Trump (-15), JD Vance (-7), and Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno (- 17). The only public official to hold a positive favorability rating is former President Barack Obama (+7). Vivek Ramaswamy and Jon Husted have net favorability ratings of -10 and -14, respectively, while Amy Acton and Sherrod Brown hold net favorability ratings of -1 and -2, respectively.

Notably, while 9 in 10 respondents could correctly identify that Republicans currently control the Ohio House, just 7% could identify that the Ohio Senate has been controlled for over 40 years by the same party (Republicans).

"All trust is not lost among Ohioans. Many public servants are viewed quite favorably. It turns out most Ohioans like librarians, teachers, professors and medical experts. The same is not true when it comes to most elected public officials. Only former President Obama rates favorably and that is exactly why he is being called in to campaign for Democrats in the homestretch."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Democracy and Public Policy Research Network expert analysis on September Ohio poll

The Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Network has released the September 2026 BGSU Poll, a web-based poll of 1,000 likely Ohio voters conducted from Sept. 1-10, 2026. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.96 percentage points.

The poll was conducted under the direction of Bowling Green State University professors Dr. Robert Alexander, Dr. Melissa K. Miller, Dr. David Jackson, and Dr. Joshua Boston in partnership with YouGov.

Significant decline in Trump approval, with voters unhappy with the economy, Iran and tariffs 

"Ohio has been one of Donald Trump's strongest states, but our findings suggest voters are becoming increasingly uneasy about him, the direction of the country, and the economy. Given that midterm elections are largely about the president’s approval, Democrats are poised to be competitive in a state Republicans have dominated electorally for two decades."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

We find 6 in 10 Ohio voters disapprove of Donald Trump’s performance in office. Sixty-one percent of respondents believe the country is on the wrong track. The economy continues to be the top issue (40%) when voters are asked to identify the top three issues of most concern to them, followed by inflation (34%), government corruption (28%), and health care (24%). Sixty-five percent think the national economy has gotten worse over the past year compared to 17% who say it is better. Six in ten likely voters oppose Trump’s policies on the Iran war (59%), and his policies relating to tariffs (61%).

Democrats hold slight edge in close governor and U.S. Senate races

"While Democrats currently hold narrow leads in both contests, voters believe Republicans are more likely to prevail in November. This suggests that many Ohioans view the state as fundamentally more favorable for Republicans, even though the current political environment has made it much more difficult for Republican candidates."
– Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

We find both the governor’s race and the U.S. Senate race are statistically tied. Democrat Amy Acton holds a 3-point edge over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for Governor (48% to 45%) and Democrat Sherrod Brown holds a 3-point lead over Republican Jon Husted in the Senate race (48% to 45%). However, when asked who they think will win, regardless of their own preferences, most believe Ramaswamy will beat Acton (62% to 36%) and Husted will beat Brown (53% to 45%). Democrats are far more motivated to vote in this election compared to Republicans (62% to 29%). Voters are evenly split when it comes to the generic congressional ballot with Democrats holding a slight edge (48-47).

Ohioans overwhelmingly want to see candidates take the debate stage

More than half of Ohioans (55%) believe it is very important that candidates for Ohio governor participate in a televised debate and nearly 87% think it is at least somewhat important. We find similar results when we asked respondents if they would like to see Ohio’s U.S. Senate candidates take to the debate stage (54% very important, 85% at least somewhat important). Eighty-nine percent of respondents agree that political debates are a valuable part of the democratic process, while 87% agree that debates help voters become more informed.

“While our poll went into the field before the question of debates became a campaign issue, it is clear that Ohio voters want to see the candidates debate one another in the public square. Moreover, they believe that debates are a valuable part of the democratic process.”
– Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Ohioans highly skeptical of data centers

"This is one of the strongest examples of how public opinion has shaped conversations and campaigning on a specific topic. Poll after poll has revealed that Ohioans are leery of data centers and the public stances of most politicians have changed as a result.”
– Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Opinions on data centers appear to be one area where many Ohioans share some common ground. Most believe data centers are bad for the environment (70%), home energy costs (69%), and people’s quality of life nearby (65%). These each represent significant increases since our April poll. Respondents oppose the construction of data centers in their local communities (75%), Ohio more generally (63%), and in the United States overall (55%). Nearly 8 in 10 respondents (78%) favor a temporary ban on the construction of new data centers until more information can be gathered about their effects. 

Few politicians and institutions held in high regard, with some notable exceptions

"One of the more encouraging findings from this poll is that Ohioans continue to place considerable trust in institutions that directly affect their daily lives. Public school teachers and medical experts remain among the most respected groups we measured, even as confidence in many political leaders and institutions remains low."
— Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

Public school teachers and medical experts hold the highest net favorability ratings of any person or entity we polled (+51 and +47, respectively), while opinions of billionaires polled the worst (-41). Majorities of Ohioans hold negative opinions of Democrats in Congress, Republicans in Congress, the Make America Great Again movement, and Democratic socialists. Prominent Republicans are also well underwater including Donald Trump (-16), JD Vance (-8), and Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno (-18). The only public officials to hold a positive favorability rating are Barack Obama (+8) and Sherrod Brown (+1). Vivek Ramaswamy and Jon Husted each have a net favorability rating of -11, while Amy Acton holds a net favorability rating of -1.

Notably, while 9 in 10 respondents could correctly identify Republicans as currently in control of Congress, 1 in 4 respondents incorrectly identified Sherrod Brown as the incumbent U.S. Senator.

Democracy and Public Policy Network expert analysis on national poll of U.S. likely voters

The Bowling Green State University Democracy and Public Policy Network has released the September BGSU/YouGov Poll, a national web-based poll of 1200 U.S. likely voters conducted from Aug. 25 to Sept. 1, 2026. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.3 percentage points. 

The poll was conducted under the direction of Bowling Green State University professors Dr. Robert Alexander, Dr. Melissa K. Miller, Dr. David Jackson and Dr. Joshua Boston in partnership with YouGov. 

Trump with low approval – Most believe the country is on the wrong track with significant concerns over the economy and the Iran War

“Donald Trump is deeply unpopular and every one of his policies we asked voters about is underwater, too. Although Donald Trump will not be on the ballot, Democrats will do their best to tie him to their opponents this fall.”
- Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

President Trump finds himself with a net job approval rating of minus-20% (40% approve to 60% disapprove). Among those who voted in 2024, more than one in 10 Trump voters now regret their vote to some degree (14%). More than six in 10 respondents (62%) say the country is on the wrong track, including 67% of independents.

The economy continues to top the list of the most important issues on the minds of U.S. likely voters. Asked to identify their three most important issues, respondents listed the economy (38%), inflation (31%), government corruption (30%), immigration (25%), threats to democracy (24%) and health care (22%). A significant majority (63%) believe the national economy has gotten worse in the last year, which is up from 55% saying the same thing in our February national poll. Just 18% say the national economy has gotten better in the last year. A majority of respondents oppose Trump’s policies relating to every single policy we asked them about, with inflation (67%), tariffs (65%), the Iran war (65%), affordability (60%), and cuts to government programs (56%) revealing the most opposition.

Democrats with early midterm advantage and early look at 2028 hopefuls

“While it's still early, the 2028 GOP presidential nomination looks to be a two-person race, with Marco Rubio picking up steam and J.D. Vance beginning to slip. On the Democratic side, the race for the presidential nomination is much more wide open.”
- Melissa K. Miller, professor of political science, BGSU

The poll finds an edge for Democrats with U.S. likely voters leading the generic congressional ballot by 7 points–51% to 44%. Democrats also report being more enthusiastic than Republicans to vote in this fall’s midterm election by a 26-point margin, 60% to 34%.

We asked Americans about 14 public policy areas and respondents indicated that Democrats would do a better job than Republicans handling all but two of those areas (securing the border and keeping America safe). The Democrats’ biggest advantages over Republicans come to making health care more affordable (+22%), protecting Social Security (+18%), making housing more affordable (+15%), improving education (+14%) and lowering the cost of living (+12%).

Following up on our February 2026 national poll, we once again asked partisans who they would support for president in 2028. Among Republicans, JD Vance leads with 44% support
(down from 51% in February), followed by Marco Rubio at 21% (up from 15%). All other possible Republican candidates we tested posted single-digit support.

Among Democrats, Kamala Harris leads with 17% (virtually unchanged since February), followed by Pete Buttigieg at 16% (up from 11%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at 14% (up from 11%), Gavin Newsom at 14% (down from 21%), and Mark Kelly at 10% (up from 7%). All other Democratic candidates we tested posted single-digit support.

Virtually all Americans are exhausted with politics and believe politicians are out of touch

"While political polarization has defined much of the past 20 years, our findings suggest something much broader in the data. Americans are frustrated with the political system itself and skeptical that elected officials understand their everyday concerns.” 
– Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

More than nine in 10 Americans (92%) think politicians are out of touch with regular people. Eighty-seven percent agree that politics today leaves them feeling exhausted. Less than a third (31%) are satisfied with the way democracy is working in the United States, while more than three-quarters (76%) believe the Founders would be dissatisfied with how American government is working today. 

Americans report that anything is better than today’s politics, including the DMV and mosquitoes

“Americans are clearly dissatisfied with the state of politics. Perhaps worse, we see that many are conveying an even broader crisis of confidence in democracy itself. It should be a warning sign for the health of our democracy that nearly two-thirds believe that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are in serious jeopardy. Perhaps it is no wonder that most Americans would rather deal with the DMV, a headache or an early morning alarm than today’s politics.”
– Robert Alexander, professor of political science, BGSU

To understand Americans’ views about the current state of politics better, we asked respondents to choose whether they preferred “politics today” to things they experience in their everyday lives. Americans prefer early morning alarms (71%), the DMV (68%), jury duty (67%), labor unions (63%), Taylor Swift (60%), and headaches (60%) over politics today. They also prefer getting bitten by a mosquito (59%), slow WiFi (59%), stubbing their toe (58%), the news media (54%) and landlords (52%) more than today’s politics.

Notably, only 12% of Americans have at least a somewhat favorable view of politics today. Even so, respondents still preferred today's politics over billionaires, telemarketers, health insurance companies, artificial intelligence, Elon Musk and root canals.